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A brief course of digitally delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of blood contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder: a structured case report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

Jack Purrington Open the ORCID record for Jack Purrington [Opens in a new window]
Jack Purrington*
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
*
Email: jpurrington1@sheffield.ac.uk
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Abstract

The lifetime prevalence of OCD in the UK is estimated to be between 1 in 100 and 1 in every 50 people. It is therefore necessary to explore innovations in practice to expand the reach of the gold standard therapeutic approaches of exposure with response prevention (ERP) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated such innovations with several services accommodating changes to routine practice by utilising digital platforms to provide videoconference-delivered therapy. Despite a growing evidence base demonstrating efficacy and scope for the use of videoconference-delivered CBT for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there remains qualitative research collated from clinicians which suggests that a lack of practitioner confidence and a low belief in positive outcomes are barriers to adopting remote therapy practices for clinicians. Therefore, this structured case report describes the assessment, formulation, intervention and outcome of an 11-week videoconference-delivered therapeutic intervention. Reflections are made regarding the use of the digital platform throughout the intervention, alongside the strengths and difficulties of applying videoconference-delivered CBT for OCD.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To illustrate a digital treatment of OCD through flexible application of the current evidence base.

  2. (2) To gain an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of delivering digital out-patient CBT for OCD.

  3. (3) To consider the utility of structured case reports in routine practice when delivering digital therapy.

Keywords

case studyCBTdigital therapyERPOCDremote therapy
Type
Case Study
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 15 , 2022 , e35
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

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References

Further reading

Matsumoto, K., Sutoh, C., Asano, K., Seki, Y., Urao, Y., Yokoo, M., Takanashi, R., Yoshida, T., Tanaka, M., Noguchi, R., Nagata, S., Oshiro, K., Numata, N., Hirose, M., Yoshimura, K., Nagai, K., Sato, Y., Kishimoto, T., Nakagawa, A., & Shimizu, E. (2018). Internet based cognitive behavioural therapy with real-time therapist support via videoconference for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder: pilot single-arm trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20, e:12091. https://doi.org/10.2196/12091 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vogel, P. A., Solem, S., Hagen, K., Moen, E. M., Launes, G., Haland, A. T., Hansen, B., Himle, J. A. (2014). A pilot randomized controlled trial of videoconference-assisted treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 63, 162–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2014.10.007 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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